


endorphins

by soulshrapnel



Series: Villainous Kinktober fills 2020 [31]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Aftercare, Multi, unmasking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:55:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27308812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soulshrapnel/pseuds/soulshrapnel
Summary: After some really good threesomes with her and Tarkin, Vader thinks he might be catching feelings for Natasi Daala. But feelings are tricky for Vader. If he's going to let this continue, there's one thing he needs to make sure of, first.(Kinktober, Day 31: Aftercare)
Relationships: Natasi Daala/Wilhuff Tarkin/Darth Vader
Series: Villainous Kinktober fills 2020 [31]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947379
Comments: 4
Kudos: 14
Collections: Kinktober 2020





	endorphins

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Adenyl_Cyclase](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adenyl_Cyclase/gifts).



> The prompt was: _"You could go with the threesome kink and do tarkin/daala/vader. Maybe a continuation of the "new toy au", something similar to the sex scene at the end of "I will not let my body belong to the dead" perhaps?"_ But I confess I only halfway followed it; that sex scene is such an incredibly trusting and vulnerable thing from Vader's perspective that, when I tried to imagine a version with Daala involved, all I could think of was how many other relationship milestones she would have to get past with him first - and then I wanted to write one of those milestones out on the page, before trying to imagine what shape the polycule might continue to take afterwards.
> 
> So, here's a fic very vaguely inspired by the prompt, in the same way as how things are Based On A True Story.
> 
> Technically Day 31 is a "do whatever you want to" day but I've always liked the idea of the last day of Kinktober being for aftercare. It's fitting, you know?
> 
> The cat metaphor (which I love) is all Spooky-Spaghetties' fault.

Natasi Daala lay on the Imperial Suite's big canopy bed, chest heaving as she caught her breath. She'd only just finished a really spectacular threesome with Emperor Tarkin and Emperor Vader, both of them hurting her just the way she liked - Tarkin in the normal way, Vader with the Force. They had been doing this more and more lately and it delighted her past reason.

Not that she had much reason left in any case. Kink was one of the few things that broke Daala's impassive facade, reducing her to something needy and animal. It got her as high as an actual drug. Tarkin had explained to her once that there _were_ drugs involved, in a sense. In response to the right kinds of intense sensation, the human brain could flood itself with endorphins, sailing through the pain like it was pleasure. The room was spinning a little, and she was sated and happy.

The trick, of course, was how to sober up again.

She felt Tarkin's hand resting firmly on her shoulder. She and Tarkin had been doing this together for a long time, certainly for longer than Vader had been involved. They had a routine for bringing Daala back to reality and clearing her head. She knew what was coming: a short cuddle, and then a shower, a snack, a glass of water, while Tarkin watched her carefully to make sure she was all right. Then she'd come back to bed and sleep the rest of it off.

That was what should have happened, but instead, she heard Vader stir. "There is something I must do," he said, in that deep, resonant voice of his.

"What would that be?" Tarkin said sleepily. Tarkin never seemed to fly as high or crash as hard as she did, even when Vader did impressively awful things to him. Still, the afterglow had the same relaxing effect on him that it did on most men.

"Come with me, Grand Admiral," said Vader - to her, not Tarkin. "There is something I must test."

Daala moved to get up; it was in her nature, at times like this, to obey them both. Tarkin sat up too, apparently concerned. "Don't break her, Vader. This isn't a good time-"

"It must be now," said Vader.

"I'll be fine," said Daala, swaying upright and standing. Her voice came out a little slurred. She did need care after a scene, but if Vader needed to test her somehow, then the scene wasn't over. She would focus on obeying him, and stay in her headspace that way, and he'd do something interesting to her, and it would all work out.

"Are you going to tell me what this is about?" Tarkin complained.

"No."

Tarkin considered this for a moment, then sighed shortly. "Bring her back here when you're done," he said, which meant that, whatever he was afraid would happen, he wasn't all _that_ concerned.

Vader motioned for Daala to follow, and she placidly followed him out of the bedroom.

Outside the bedroom itself was the Imperial Suite's parlor. Now that they'd been living here for a while, Vader and Tarkin had remodeled the place. It no longer contained any of the late Emperor Palpatine's strange pastels. It was a sleek, dark, minimalist space, like the bedroom, with low gray couches and a long window looking out over Coruscant's nighttime cityscape. At the side of the room, near the bedroom door, waited the big, angular shape of one of Emperor Vader's meditation chambers. He'd agreed to stay in here, during his time on Coruscant, until proper chambers with a bacta tank could be constructed for him.

She watched the way Vader walked. Sometimes Vader's prowling gait reminded her more of an animal than a human. Some great black feline, muscular and fanged, pacing its territory.

Vader wordlessly waved a hand, and the chamber opened.

It was stark white on the inside, a contrast to its black outer shell. There were little shelves and lights and buttons, and a thick padded chair. Vader stepped inside, sat in the chair, and beckoned Daala after him.

Daala could make inferences well enough, even in her addled state. Vader wanted to see how she would handle something that was inside this chamber. There could be all manner of things in here - probably unpleasant, medical ones. Daala didn't know much about Vader's medical conditions, but she knew enough to infer _that._ She stepped inside, bracing herself.

"What do you think of me, Grand Admiral?" Vader asked, with the chamber still gaping open around them both.

Daala blinked at him. Was this the test? She wouldn't have pegged Vader as the type who needed to ask where a relationship was going.

"I like you," she said, "currently."

Vader sounded amused. "Currently?"

"I wasn't sure about you at first, my lord. I still don't feel I know you as well as I know Emperor Tarkin. But you've made me feel so terribly good; I've grown to like you." In the afterglow, it really did feel that simple. Vader didn't always make a lot of sense, but he was strong and fearsome and did just the things she liked. "I'd like to understand you better, actually."

Vader reached out and lifted her chin with one gloved finger, and she inhaled sharply. He had never physically touched her before. She'd seen him put his hands on Tarkin before, during or after play, but not her. All of the things he'd done to her so far, the pain and the sex and the manhandling, it had all been just the Force. "Would you like to learn something about me, Grand Admiral?"

She blinked again. Was _this_ the test? "Yes, my lord. Yes, please."

The chamber shut up around them, and Vader lifted in the air with the Force. Daala braced herself further; this was what he often did when he was about to strip her, or hurt her, or do something else nice. She was already naked, of course.

"Stay where you are put until I say otherwise," said Vader.

Daala didn't need to put any effort in to obey that order. She relaxed her body and let herself hang there in the air. The chamber's operation was interesting, though she'd have appreciated it more if she'd been alert enough to focus on its details. There was a hiss as the air warmed and thickened around her. Vader's chair tilted back, and a set of robotic arms in the chamber's ceiling took off the outer parts of Vader's armor, efficiently, one at a time. He was still wrapped in dark fabric, but she thought she saw an expanse of scarred, bald skin on the back of his head.

She peered closer at him, muzzily fascinated. She had not expected this, but it made sense that, in a meditation chamber, Vader could take some of that weight off. It was clearly only a prelude to the test he was planning. She hoped that he didn't mind her looking.

At last the arms finished their work, and Vader's chair tilted back up to a sitting position. At which point, he grabbed her with the Force again and whisked her onto his lap.

Daala draw back, blinking. He'd made a buffer of several inches between his face and hers, his chest and hers, but this was still a _big_ leap. She could feel the fabric of his trousers, or whatever those leg-coverings were supposed to be called, soft and uneven against the bare backs of her thighs, under her hips. Daala hadn't had the chance to clean up yet - her inner thighs were still a mess from what they'd been doing before, and Vader was so touch-shy; it seemed strange that he'd let himself make contact with them.

She liked it, though. It was good to feel something and know it was actually Vader, not just an effect he'd created. She guiltily imagined a little of herself soaking into the fabric, staying with him even after he'd gone for the night.

She held still, since that was what she'd been instructed to do.

"Have you ever wished," Vader asked her, "to see my face?"

"Yes, please," she answered, without having to think about it. She'd been very curious what Vader's body looked like, right from their first encounter.

"Stay still," he said, unnecessarily. She was already doing that. In the back of her mind, Daala sometimes critiqued Vader's verbal technique. He was a lot of fun, he could do things no one else could, but when it came to giving orders, he lacked finesse. Tarkin was better at that.

She still drew in her breath in surprise when he picked up his mask with his own hands, carefully undoing latches and releasing mechanisms, and lifted it up onto a shelf beside him.

She stared at Vader's face.

His face was sickly and full of scars, of course, but she'd expected that. Daala had long ago lost any squeamishness she might have had around battle scars. His expression, though: that wasn't what she'd pictured. Daala had imagined Vader scowling, behind his mask, like the grim veteran he was. Snarling, maybe, like an animal. Maybe he did those things at other times, but right now he looked... hesitant. Wistful. How fascinating; Daala wouldn't have imagined him looking like that in a million years. This test must be important to him.

She sat politely and waited for it to begin.

It didn't, though. He just stared at her, his yellow eyes intent but unfocused, like he was looking right through her.

It occurred to Daala, as she waited, that Tarkin had often seen Vader without his suit. Tarkin must have kissed him like this, probably. Daala had wished there was a way to kiss Vader before, but she didn't dare do it _now,_ especially not when she'd been ordered to sit still. The metaphor of the cat was relevant; this was Vader stretching out on that big black back of his, paws curled inward, showing his belly. Tarkin must know him well enough to be able to touch him this way safely. But if Daala tried, she'd get the claws.

As she contemplated this, she started to feel a little woozy. Being tested was all well and good in theory, but nobody was hurting her or fucking her or doing anything especially deep or complicated with her emotions right now, and that meant that all those nice endorphins were beginning to drain away. With a partner to help bring her down gently, that wouldn't be a problem. And with some advance warning, she could do it almost as well by herself. But if Vader wanted her to sit here and wait for him to do something, instead of attending to her aftercare needs, then she might crash out all at once. She might get very low indeed, maybe for days. And that would affect her work, which was unacceptable.

"My lord," she said uncertainly, swaying, "I... I need..."

"I see that," said Vader, releasing her.

She floated up in the air again and his armor started to go back on. She felt disappointed with herself. If she hadn't inconveniently had _needs,_ they wouldn't have had to cut the test short. But they could always go back and do it later, she supposed. And it was partly Vader's fault for getting the timing wrong.

When at length the chamber opened and Vader set her down gently, she expected him to let her go so she could take care of herself - or to go back to Tarkin. She was surprised when, instead, she felt his gloved hand on her shoulder, guiding her to the nearby fresher.

"Are you sure-?" she asked, not displeased but surprised. Vader had watched Tarkin do it, but he had never done her aftercare himself before.

"Yes," said Vader.

He got a hot shower running for her, turning the taps with the Force. She stepped in, and he kept half his gaze on her as she relaxed into the water, settling back into the way that her body usually felt. When she reached for the soap and started washing herself, he went out to the parlor for a minute, and returned with a piece of teacake and a tall glass of water. She finished the shower when she felt ready, and toweled off, and he put that possessive hand back on her shoulder as she ate and drank. He didn't murmur little encouragements to her the way Tarkin did; he just stood with her, so big and present, and breathed. Oddly, it worked.

She was sleepy, but her head felt a little bit clearer than before as she looked up at him. This was a kind of intimacy, different from the intimacy of sex or pain. She liked having it with him, but- "Why now, my lord? When I didn't even manage to finish your test."

"You have passed it," said Vader, but he wouldn't say another word.

*

Tarkin had been sitting propped up against a pillow, idly looking at a datapad, but he put it away when Vader and Natasi re-entered. He gave Natasi, in particular, a close look up and down. Tarkin had gotten to the point of trusting Vader with her, mostly, but this had been a risky move on Vader's part. Fortunately Natasi looked none the worse for wear - sleepy and content, but grounded enough to drift off safely. There were reddened patches and little bruises beginning to bloom, all along her gorgeous body; those were all Tarkin's, he thought with fond possessiveness. Vader relied on Force techniques which never left a mark.

"You did her aftercare?" he asked. That wasn't what he'd expected Vader to do, but it was the simplest explanation for what he saw.

"I did," said Vader.

Tarkin rearranged the pillows and lay down on his side, opening the blankets for Natasi. She crawled in and rested her head against his shoulder, on the pillows, cuddling up to him in a position that she clearly intended to sleep in. He looked up at Vader. "What was this test, then?"

"I don't know, sir," Natasi said sleepily, against his shoulder. Her eyes were already closed. "We didn't even do anything. He just looked at me with his mask off for a while, that's all."

Tarkin silently raised his eyebrows at Vader.

 _He_ knew, though apparently Natasi didn't, how insecure Vader was about his face. About every part of his real body, actually. Vader was convinced people would find him repulsive. Tarkin didn't, but Vader viewed Tarkin as an aberration; it didn't change his underlying opinion of himself. That was the test, then: he'd felt some wave of attachment to Natasi, or some momentary insecurity about her, and he'd decided to see what happened when she looked at him.

Apparently the answer was _nothing,_ though - she'd taken it so easily in stride that its significance didn't register at all.

Perhaps that was why Vader had insisted on doing the test now, while she was a little befuddled by endorphins and couldn't overthink it. Any natural fear or disgust she might experience, in such a state, would be lessened. Or perhaps Vader hadn't thought it through that clearly. Perhaps he'd had the thought and, as usual with Vader, he had not wanted to wait.

What perfect, reckless creatures they both were. And Vader in particular - they had really come such a long way since the first time Tarkin saw him unmasked. Then, he'd been so overwhelmed that he'd thrown Tarkin out of the meditation chamber onto the floor - even though Vader was the one whose idea it had been - refusing to speak to him for hours more. It had been the start of a whole series of strange decisions Vader made about his body, a problem they hadn't been able to solve without a year of exposure therapy. But this time, with Natasi, Vader had not only endured being seen; he'd had the presence of mind left over, afterwards, for tenderness.

"What made you decide to do that now?" he asked, when Vader didn't leave. He was curious.

"I had a thought," Vader said, "earlier." He tilted his helmeted head, looking down at Natasi. "She will outlive us."

Natasi stirred very slightly in response to that - she wasn't quite asleep yet, but she was too far gone to open her mouth and say anything. Tarkin wrapped an arm around her strong shoulders protectively, running a hand through her long red hair.

In a sense it was too obvious to bother saying. Natasi Daala was Tarkin's protegé; he was three and a half decades older than her. Vader's age was in the middle between theirs, but Vader had so many health problems. If she didn't outlive them both, there would be something _wrong._

But Tarkin recalled that, on their first serious date together, Vader had predicted Tarkin's death. He foresaw things like that about people, sometimes, at the very moment he started to care about them. This, Tarkin suspected, was no mere _thought._

Before he could raise his head and come out with some coherent answer, Vader had vanished. His black cape billowed behind him as the bedroom door shut, leaving Tarkin and Natasi to their sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I have had SUCH a blast writing these little Kinktober fics and I'm slightly astonished to have made it to the end! (And to have made it to the end _on time;_ I did fall slightly behind schedule a couple of times, but I caught back up.) If you've been following along with the whole series then I hope you've enjoyed the whole month.
> 
> You can author subscribe, or follow me at [madeofsplinters.tumblr.com,](https://madeofsplinters.tumblr.com/) if you want more villain shenanigans after the month is up.
> 
> Happy Halloween <3


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